Living Things
by Eden Alice Poe
Summary: Three shot dedication. Inspired by Linkin Park's newest album. The Titans have lost something very important and Robin is reflecting on it's implications as he tries to move past the loss. For those who have lost something similar, even when you thought that it couldn't have been held so close to your heart or had such a profound impact on you.
1. First Shot: Robin feels Powerless

First Shot: Robin Feels **_Powerless_**

Note: For those of you who may be confused, this happens during the 4th season story arc, it's as if we never got the The End 3parters. Season 3 happened over the summer & season 4 was in the fall months in this fic/ universe/ whatever-you-want-to-call-it-so-it-makes-sense. That is all, carry on...

I couldn't believe it had happened. Sure, she had been the stereotyped 'Goth Titan'. Sure, she had some darker moments, but all the Titans did. Raven hated the cliché, yet she had fallen victim to the very thing she despised.

I knew Raven had been battling depression. It wasn't one of her well-kept secrets. I was surprised it was a secret at all, but, then again, Raven had been trained her whole life to never feel, never show emotion.

_**You hid your skeletons when I had shown you mine**_

After all we'd been through over the summer; I was Haunted by memories of my former foe, Starfire becoming Betrothed to that _thing_, when Beast Boy unleashed the Beast Within, Cyborg's Crash, when Raven was Spellbound with that dragon. Everyone had shared more with each other. Yet, even after all that, Raven still had remained a mystery, distant to us. She still had secrets to hide apparently.

_**You woke the devil that I thought you left behind**_

Raven had told me once that she wouldn't let her heritage affect her destiny, wouldn't let it decide how she lived. Yet, when Slade had come back from the dead to deliver this unholy prophecy, how Raven would unleash this unspeakable evil into the world. I had heard some of the threats her father must've been sending her through our bond

'What you have concealed you shall become.'

She hadn't gotten over the fact that she was a half-demon, and as hard as she tried to keep it from us, she simply couldn't keep it forever.

_**I saw the evidence, the crimson soaking through**_

I remembered bringing it up with her. Over the summer Raven had taken to wearing civilian clothes when she wanted to go out without being immediately recognized as a superhero. She always tried to wear something with long sleeves, like what she had for her uniform, but I still noticed. The long thin scars running down her arms, no matter how well her healing abilities worked, Raven seemed to want, maybe need, the reminders for herself. I tried to take her aside and talk with her about it, but she'd only pull away like always.

It got so bad, once, right before we left to go stop some minor villain, her leotard sleeves had been soaked through with blood. She had fought that whole battle without bringing her arms out from under her cloak.

_**Ten thousand promises, Ten thousand ways to lose**_

As a team, the Titans had been through a lot over the year. I promised Star once that we'd all be friends forever, and when she came back from that future we had lived without her, it only reinforced the idea for us all.

Sure, the villains had been getting tougher, the monsters were harder to beat, but we'd done the impossible so many times over, it was just a concept now, just like losing was for me.

"You said once, 'Winning isn't everything'" I slightly laugh into the night, trying to talk with her as I tended to do on lonely nights like these, remembering life as it had been with the dark Titan.

"But we lost you, and that was a game no one is meant to lose. Don't you get that?"

_**And you held it all**_

Raven had been our rock. The only one, besides me, who could be counted on to keep a level head in a desperate situation. She could be trusted to keep everyone safe and still kick plenty of butt herself. Raven was the cool, calm, collected one and if she had the drive, she could've beaten me out for leader. But Raven was fine with just being a part of the team.

_**But you were careless to let it fall**_

Finally telling us everything, after all we had been through over that summer, after all Slade had put her through in the past few weeks… it had finally pushed her over the edge. Raven was the most hopeful person I knew. But to know she had just... given up…

**_You held it all_**

**_And I was by your side_**

**_Powerless_**

I had known Raven for what seemed like forever. All the Titans, we were almost family. It was so unlike the distant relationship I had with Batman. And watching Raven fade away from us like that… I tried to do all I could. I made every effort to reach out to her, and yet…

**_I watched you fall apart and chased you to the end_**

To know it was all for nothing, all my effort only to have her leave us…

**_I'm left with emptiness that words can not defend_**

"I miss you," I whisper into the night. I clutch her note to me tighter, her final words to me playing over in my head. I close my eyes behind this new mask I had taken on.

I had dropped the Robin mantle after she'd left us.

Now, I'm Nightwing, and I hate it.

**_You'll never know what I became because of you_**

The Titans had split up fairly soon after she had left us. Just like with Star, we needed the whole team to function. Take one of us, the whole team falls apart.

Now I've become more like the Dark Knight than I ever wanted to. All because our team fell apart and I was left alone to defend Jump.

**_Ten thousand promises, Ten thousand ways to lose_**

Cyborg had been the first to go. Said he got a job with STAR Labs and a full ride scholarship to some university on the East Coast. He was working with Titans East now in his free time. I guess crime fighting was getting old for him.

Beast Boy became obsessed with bringing Terra back. Raven had been doing all she could and BB said she had been close to a breakthrough. I lost track of him after a while.

Starfire stayed the longest, but her unbridled joy simply wasn't enough to combat my brooding. She said that she was needed back on her planet. I haven't heard from her since.

**_And you held it all_**

**_But you were careless to let it fall_**

"I miss you," I whisper again. This time hoping somehow my friends might hear it, the silent apology in it.

I could've stopped her. I should've done more. I would've been able to make her stay.

Could've, should've, would've.

**_You held it all_**

**_And I was by your side_**

Sometimes, like on this night, I can delude myself into thinking that Raven never left. That it was the other Titans who simply disbanded, and that she's standing here, silently, by my side. That we're protecting the city, together, just the two of us. But then I open my eyes from behind this mask and I see that there's no one there, only the breeze and the sounds of late night activities.

**_Powerless_**

I've never truly had powers of my own. I had to rely on my strength, my martial arts training, my own brain. And yet, some speculated that I was the most powerful Titan, despite my lack of supernatural ability.

"But I couldn't stop my own teammate," I confess to the night.

"I've never felt so weak, so vulnerable, so defenseless, so… powerless…"

And that's because, Richard, I try to tell myself, you've fooled yourself, for so long, into thinking that you've had the power, when really, you barely have any more than the next kid. But I won't listen. Some other time, perhaps, but for now, I allow myself to be fooled, because I need to prove her wrong, I need to show her that I can't let her go, that she's still a part of me, a part of this team that we've left behind, a part of this world, a part of _my_ world. And I won't let her go. Why can't I allow myself to finally let her go? To let this pain go?

...

Author's Note & Disclaimer: Yes, that's right, Poe here owns LP and TT! Pff, I wish. The Teen Titans are owned more/less by Cartoon Network and Warner Bros, Linkin Park owns the lyrics and stuff. Just to be clear, this first shot is for Powerless, second will be for I'll Be Gone, and the third will be Roads Untraveled, all from their recent Living Things album. Best album since Meteora, btw, I liked some songs from Minutes to Midnight, but for the most part, they kinda strayed from their usual style with MtM and A Thousand Suns... NI! They're really awesome, and if you give them a chance, you might find some songs that you'd like from them.

Apologies and Thanks to Stormy-chan, I'm sorry I made you cry, but I'm happy you liked it!

A big round of applause to Xaphrin, a writer I've really looked up to for her amazing writing skills. Thank you for looking over my work and making some suggestions on improving this, I hope that I've made my thoughts a little clearer in some places, in others... well, that was the authoress' intent? I'll use that as my excuse for now. ^^. Thanks again!

Now onto why I've posted this up instead of the second chap of my first fic on this site- grab a steaming cup of your favorite comfort beverage, kids, this story isn't for the faint of heart-... on second thought I'll have you sitting on the edge of your seat until the final shot, unless I get enough people asking me to explain sooner...

Like a wise author before me once said- **It's a fanfiction crime to read and not review**! So tell me how I did, how I could do better, whether you loved or hated, laughed or cried, anything at all! Tell me to get my butt into gear for the next shot or chap of my other story. Tell me I suck and I should never write again... wait, that'd be really mean... But then again, I have pretty thick skin- figuratively speaking- so whatever floats your cannoli!

Tune in soonish for the next shot! See ya then!


	2. Second Shot: Raven'll Be Gone

Second Shot: Raven_'ll Be Gone_

Note: Takes place before the 1st shot, which will be very obvious when you start reading. The final shot will be in between this one & the 1st. Enjoy.

_**Like shining oil this night is dripping down**_

It was really late in the evening. When we finally realized what had happened. When we finally made the discovery.

When Raven left us.

We hadn't heard from her all day, but that was normal. Beast Boy was trying to bug her, like usual, but she wouldn't even bother telling him to leave her alone. Even Cyborg and I tried to get a response from her, but nothing, she wouldn't give us even a minor complaint from behind the door. When she wouldn't answer to Starfire's pleas, I put my foot down.

"Raven." I was outside her door now. "Open up."

No reply.

I type in the override code and her door slides open with a very faint _click_.

"Dude, Raven, you okay?" BB asks once the door has been opened and she hasn't come at us with a vengeance.

Her curtains are opened, the faint light of the stars and moonbeams stream in.

_**Stars are slipping down, glistening**_

There she is, ever so peaceful, lying across her bed. Her head rests gently on one of her midnight blue pillows, her hair splayed out around her like a violet halo. A soft Mona Lisa smile dances on her lips, as if she finally found one of Beast Boy's jokes somewhat amusing.

"Raven?" one of us asks tentatively.

As if my mind hasn't fully registered what's happened, my legs move forward without my consent. I notice the orange tinted prescription bottle resting in her hand. She told me once how her mother had tried to go that way, when she first learned she was pregnant. Raven was just finishing the job.

I know it's futile, but I check for a pulse, a sign of breath, anything.

"She's gone."

Starfire's eyes tear up, she starts sobbing. Beast Boy is blubbering, trying to deny it, mumbling to himself. Cyborg keeps a poker face to rival the Dark Knight's.

I notice that there's some envelopes by her bedside table, each addressed to someone she knows. I walk slowly over to pick up one as the rest of my team begins to file in to see what's caught my attention.

I turn the envelope over in my hands. There's two letters in it that I can feel through the thin paper. I read over my name on the front. It's not superhero persona, or that stupid nickname I've had forever, but my real identity, Richard.

I tear open the first letter, it's addressed to all of us.

To the Titans, my family,

I've never truly had a family, but you've all known that for a while now. I only regret that I had to leave this way, but believe me when I say it's for the greater good. I've told you about that awful prophecy, and I won't let it control me anymore, I won't let my father control me anymore.

I don't absolutely know what's waiting for me on the other side, but it's more than likely you won't see me when it's your time. _**And I'm trying not to think what I'm leaving now**_, but there's _**no deceiving** _you _**now**_, I'm gone and you have to find a way to move past this, move past me. I want to be able to ask, if for some reason we do meet again in that next life, "_**It's time you let me know**_, how did you do after? Did you continue the Titans legacy or let it fade? Did you live life to the fullest for me? Did you fall apart? Did you stick together? _**Let me know**_."

_**When the lights go out and we open our eyes**_. _**Out there in the silence**_, that's where I am, but if you try to reach for me, _**I'll be gone**_.

_**Let the sun fade out**_, this day come to pass, _**and another one rise**_. _**Climbing through tomorrow**_, but _**I'll be gone**_.

I only hope you'll forgive me, move past this, what have you. Either way, it's done and over now, and there's nothing we can do about it.

With love,

Raven

My eyes are burning with the unshed tears, but I need to be strong right now for my team.

Star is still sobbing, Cy's been reading over my shoulder this whole time, BB is still in denial, but he's even more hysterical right now.

I walk over to him and before I even realize what I'm about to do, I slap him.

He quiets.

"That's enough," I say, "You don't believe it? Read it for yourself. She's left notes for each of us."

I hand him the group letter, saving my personally addressed one for when I have a private moment to grieve.

He takes it, Star reads over his shoulder. She tears up some more as her emerald eyes scan the paper, but she's quieter now. Beast Boy is letting some of his own tears slide.

I make my way back to the leftover envelopes. I read the names out loud, handing them out.

"Victor?"

"That's for me," Cyborg says.

"Logan?"

"Yeah, I'd only ever told her my last name, I hate my first," Beast Boy explains sheepishly.

"…Kori?"

"That would be my Tamaranean name translated to English!"

"Karen, Roy, Garth, Mateo, Marcos?"

"Titans East," Cy says.

I look over some others.

"Looks like we'll have to round up some of the honorary Titans, there's even a few civilians that she must've known pretty well."

I look at the one envelope labeled 'Press' in her neat handwriting and stuff that one into my pocket, thinking to myself how prepared she must've been for this.

"Well guys, there's not much we can do except give Raven a proper send off."

We disperse to make the proper arrangements.

…

It's late in the afternoon again. After the funeral. It seemed all of Jump City had come to pay their respects at some point.

All the Titans and civilians Raven had left notes for were mingling in the Ops room now. I had left them just a few minutes before; I needed the fresh air to clear my head. I'm standing on the Tower roof now, right where _she_ used to meditate in the afternoon.

I shiver in the fading light as the sun dips lower and lower.

_**This air between us is getting thinner now**_. We're almost _**into winter now**_, and I recall how only last year we had sat here talking. About our goals for the new team, the crime in the city, some things about the present, yet nothing about how our pasts had led us here, or where we might've thought our future would take us. Now it all seemed so _**bittersweet**_.

_**And 'cross that horizon this sun is setting down**_.

I shiver yet again, but I refuse to leave just yet. I opt instead to finally open the letter instead. I had waited far too long for my tastes, but I was somewhat afraid of what I might find inside.

The paper crinkles from being folded over so many times to fit in the folds of my shirt. I stare at the writing for a minute, not reading just looking at the elegant handwriting. I take a shaky breath, fidget with my suits' collar. No one had bothered to change once we had made it back to the Tower; we had all been too distracted.

I take another breath before I start reading.

Robin, or Dick or Richard or Nightwing or whatever you want to be called,

I know how personally you take things when you fail; I've been inside your head, after all. Maybe you're reading this right after you've found me, maybe you've put it off for 30 years. Either way, _**you're forgetting now**_, I made this decision and nothing you could say or do would've stopped me. I was very determined. _**It's time you let me go**_, I'm gone now. I'm no longer a part of this team, I'm no longer a part of this world, your world. I'm not coming back. _**Let me go**_.

If you haven't already given my letter for the press, or if anyone ever asks you why you personally think I did what I did, well… Tell them it was the cowards' way out, as suicide is often euphemized. Tell them it was for the greater good. Tell them I was selfish. Tell them I was trapped. _**And tell them I couldn't help myself**_. _**And tell them I was alone**_. Tell them how I might wish I could've stayed with all of you. Tell them how I wanted someone to _**tell me I am the only one**_. On second thought, it doesn't really matter too much what you tell them, as long as they're satisfied with their answer.

Well, I'm sort of pressed for time as I write this, so I'll just wrap up. You're a great leader, Richard. One day you'll be an even greater superhero than your mentor was, I'm sure of that.

I'm going now _**and there's nothing that can stop me**_. Maybe I'll see you in the next life. It's a selfish hope, but hope all the same.

Have a nice life, Boy Blunder,

Raven

I peel off the mask as my tears flood the lenses. I try to focus my blue eyes on the ocean, on her letter; anything but this pain that I feel tearing me up, cutting straight through my soul.

"I can't. I won't," I try to tell her. But she's long gone and she can't hear me now.

_**Out there in the silence, I'll be gone**_

_**Let the sun fade out and another one rise**_

_**Climbing through tomorrow, I'll be gone**_

"No one can replace you, Raven," I continue trying to tell her. "And now… You really were the only one, Rae. We need you, I need you. You think I can run this team on my own. But you didn't take into account how deeply this would cut me up, how badly this hurts all of us. Why Raven? Why couldn't you really stay? Before, you'd help us when we needed answers, now you leave only questions behind you. Why did you have to leave? Why? Why? Why?"

I receive no answer, of course.

The World's Greatest Detective may have trained me, yet even in death, Raven was the one mystery that still eluded me.

...

Author's Note: Thank you to Xaphrin & Stormy-chan, yet again.

Apologies all around if Robin seemed a little 'brutal'. Just how I personally wanted to write him, it was the way that made the most sense to me & was the easiest.

The next shot is done, but I want to try & finish writing more of the 2nd chap of Behind the Scenes before I consider posting it. Just kinda to mess with ya'll ;P But never fear, you won't have to wait as long for the final shot, I promise to have it up by this upcoming friday for sure!

No one has asked "why did you decide to post this?" yet, so if you have been wondering & just forgot to ask, you'll have to wait a little longer XP

Big thanks to SongByrd47, EmailGoose & Nkcandygirl for their reviews, you guys made my day & I'm sorry for making you cry. Total #: 5 people! I feel so accomplished, that I made people FEEL something with my writing, hope this one is up to par with the other!

Well, that's all for now. See ya next shot. Leave a review on your way out, it can even be just one random letter, though I'd appreciate it if you took the time to tell me how the writing is & what you liked/hated. Hope to hear from you readers soon!

Buh bye, this is Alice signing out!


	3. Third Shot: The Roads we left Untraveled

Third Shot: The _Roads_ we left _Untraveled_

Note: TURKEY DAY 2012! WHOO! Okay, I know I said it was gonna be friday that I was gonna post this, but I figured you have all suffered enough, so I'ma posting this today! Last shot people! Takes place between first two. Warning- Has final most cliche thing you could possibly make characters do in a songfic: Sing. Sorry bout that, kinda wanted to explore the different types of songfics that are seen throughout fanfiction. Hope you'll enjoy it anyway. the focus is still on Robin's thoughts & not so much on the singing itself. Well, with that said, enjoy!

"Robin," Cyborg tries to call to me again, but my thoughts have been too unfocused to register this until now.

"Huh? Titans G-!"

"Chill man, you haven't finished your breakfast. Care to tell me what's up?" He interrupts.

"Just," I sigh, "I can't get her out of my head. I try to stay focused, for BB and Star, for Jump… for _her_, but she keeps invading my mind. She told us she wants us to move on, but…"

"I think you need more than just a letter."

I stare at Cy for a minute, seriously considering my mechanical friend's mental wellbeing.

"And are you proposing that she tell me herself? I'm pretty sure Star already tried 'making the contact with the world of spirits', once when Raven was here to help out herself-"

"I'm talking about something I found a little while back. Come on," he made the 'follow me' gesture and proceeded to the entertainment area, towards the computers that lined the base of the huge window that doubly served as our television set.

"When me and B were going through all that stuff for that tribute vid thing we did; you remember when we showed it during the wake? Anyways, I went over some of my memory files and found some things that didn't exactly suit the vid, but I kept 'em aside, just cause."

While he explains, he sets up the screen. It blinks to life and soon I see Raven, alive and healthy and very pissed off.

My mask widens in surprise. "What happened?"

Cy looks up to Raven's face on the big screen, he starts laughing.

"Oh man, don't worry, I was just bugging her, here, you'll see." He toys with a few more keys and things until he has the screen settings and sound exactly as he wants it.

"Cyborg, there's no way you're roping me into this," her sweet voice drifts into the Ops room. It's as if she had never been gone.

"C'mon Rae, I know you've got skills. Can't you please just play for me once?"

Her eye twitches ever so slightly at the nickname, but Cy continues without missing a beat.

"Please? I won't bug you any more about this. Just one little song, you can e-"

"If I play, do you mind if I sing a little too?" She asks suddenly, almost sheepishly, as if she couldn't believe she was going to give in to Cyborg's pleas.

"No prob! BB, Rob and Star are all out, so Silkie's the only other living thing in this Tower that'll hear you."

She smirked at his comment.

"To the Music Room, then," she says as they make their way through the Tower's corridors.

The music room had been set up some time while Terra had been around. Beast Boy had wanted to impress everyone, namely Terra at the time, with his 'mad skillz' at playing multiple instruments at once. He earned a few laughs, but Raven was the one to really steal the show when she used her telekinesis to start up half an orchestra playing some classical tune that only Cyborg really recognized at first. Cyborg had been on and on afterwards about how he was sure that she could actually play all those instruments herself, without relying on her powers. She had been doing her best to refuse him, but apparently he really had worn her down. The room had been left pretty vacant, but Star occasionally added to it when she had wanted to know of more of Earth's 'music makers'. It had pretty much been left to the dust after Raven had left, I don't think any of us had even passed by the hallway.

Raven had finally made it to the door, Cyborg's shadow is clearly seen on the door as it slides open. She starts naming off the instruments nearby as she makes her way around.

"Any preferences?"

"I don't know, I really just want to hear you play an instrument yourself. It's really hard to pick just one," Cy said.

"Who said I absolutely had to play just one at a time?" She asked mischievously.

Her hand glowed that familiar black aura, and soon it detached itself from her and morphed into two talon-like hands. They poised themselves over the piano, ready to play a tune.

Raven turned back and smirked at what must've been Cy's shocked expression.

"What? The song I have in mind is best accompanied by a piano piece. It's actually quite lovely."

Cy simply shook his head, which blurred out her image momentarily.

"You really are something Rae-" she gives him a death glare "-ven."

She turns swiftly and picks up a guitar, tuning it as the claw-hands test the piano.

"Let's just get this over with. Beast Boy could be home any second, though I wouldn't doubt Star will want to be out all day, Robin with her."

When she's done tuning, a sweet melancholy melody drifts from the piano. Raven tilts her head to the side, much like the bird of her namesake might. As if she was listening ever so carefully for the changes in sound, analyzing the best response for it.

Finally, she takes a breath, and her voice is absolutely astonishing.

_**Weep not for roads untraveled**_

_**Weep not for paths left alone**_

It was as if she were singing directly to me. Not merely singing the words as she knew them, but her voice carried with it all the tenderness of one who knew what it meant to let an opportunity pass, a mistake to take over instead of letting it go.

_**'Cause beyond every bend**_

_**Is a long, blinding end**_

_**It's the worst kind of pain I've known**_

I know this pain she's singing of. I've felt it in the past days and weeks, even in the months prior to the incident. She had been projecting it onto us without even realizing it, and it still lingered here, seeping into our daily routines and causing us to suffer all the more for it.

"This was fairly recent, wasn't it?" I try to ask, but Cy shushes me.

_**Give up your heart left broken**_

_**And let that mistake pass on**_

But, I can't give you up, Raven. I won't let you pass. I need you and your memory here. It's too important to me. You want me to let you go, but you don't realize how hard that is for me. I can't forget things easily, and I'm too stubborn to let it all slide.

_**'Cause the love that you lost**_

_**Wasn't worth what it cost**_

_**And in time you'll be glad it's gone**_

She starts in a vocalization that melts my heart. I never knew she had such a set of lungs on her, but it's all so beautiful.

I reflect on the last lines. How can one be glad that their lost love is gone? Maybe for a breakup, that would make some sense that way, but in this context? How can we be happy that our friend has left us? Was she saying that she wasn't worth that time? That effort to become friends? It makes me suddenly think of the old adage: Time heals all wounds.

I want to tell her that while time may heal the wound, if it was deep enough, it'll leave a scar. And while scars too can be healed, some of us wanted, or needed, the reminder.

Her guitar playing interrupts my thoughts, but it's superb, not a single note was missed. Almost too soon, she quiets and starts on what must be the final stanza for the song, even the piano playing has slowed dramatically.

_**Weep not for roads untraveled**_

_**Weep not for sights unseen**_

It stops completely as Raven looks Cyborg seriously in the eye. It feels as though she's looking into my soul, telling me to pay special attention to her next words.

_**May your love never end**_

_**And if you need a friend**_

_**There's a seat here alongside me**_

She dives right back into her vocalization like before, she plays her heart and soul out on that guitar. And for this time only, I saw a side of Raven that no one was meant to see. There was pain in her, but also this passion. A burning passion and love, for the music, for her friends, for herself. She may have been taught to be emotionally restrained, but through music, she redefined her own character and showed Cyborg, and now I as well, how emotionally liberated she truly desired to be, how unrestrained she really could be, how amazing she actually was.

When she finally finished, the last note had long vacated the room, and a dead silence hung in the air. She began to get agitated by Cyborg's silence.

"Well don't just stand there with your mouth open," she reprimanded.

"That was-"

"Don't," she raised a hand to stop his thought. "Doesn't matter. You got to finally hear me play, now you can't bug me about it anymore."

"You should show everyone!" he attempted to sway her.

"I'm not some trick pony, Cyborg. One time thing, take it or leave it."

With that the talon-hands dissipated and she placed the guitar gently back in the stand. Cyborg watched her leave, never once turning back. The last image showed her head bobbing around the corner into the hallway, presumably heading to Ops.

The screen grows dark.

I hadn't realized tears had slid past the protective covering of my mask until Cy hands me a tissue.

"I just miss her so much."

"We all do man, but we've got our job to do. Like you told us, we can't stop being the Titans simply because of tragedy, it should motivate us to do more. And so far with how you've been handling this, I think she'd be proud of all of us."

I do not reply to this. I think to myself how much those words must've meant to the team, which was exactly why I said them. We needed to keep the team together. But just because I seem to speak with conviction, it didn't mean that I had ever convinced the most important person: Myself. Those seemed like the right words, I knew that they'd unite us, but I didn't believe them. The whole world shouldn't still be moving. Where was that pause in the universe, that moment where everyone realizes that an important part of us is gone, missing, and never coming back? Where's the justice?

Cyborg continues, the mask that I hide behind always works to my advantage in more ways than one.

"She just wants us to move on without her, and that's what I want from you too. Robin, you're hurting, we all are, but we're here for each other. You're not alone in this."

He pats me gently on the back and leaves. I pull up the video and watch it a second time, just to see her face again.

Time will heal this wound, but for now, I wallow in the pain, in my misery, and allow it to consume me. Maybe someday soon, I'll move on. It's a selfish hope, but a hope all the same.

...

Author's Note: Special thanks to Xaphrin & Stormy-chan, for their excellent work, input & insight. I've you & all my reviewers to thank for helping me to better myself as a writer, even if some consider fanfiction to be a waste of time (cough, my family, cough) . I have all of you to make it worth it. Big thanks to those who do review, Songbyrd47, EmailGoose, Nkcandygirl, ScarredSkull, Tearsofthelost, you guys make my day, I love reading your input before I have to face another dreaded day of school, you guys get me through it!

So happy I got to mention Silkie in this, normally everyone forgets bout the little bugger, but I love him too much to not mention him at least once! Also, did anyone notice what I did when I mentioned him? No? Well, I accidentally added in 'living thing', the title of the album this fic was inspired by. Totally not on purpose but I'm glad things worked out that way. I love it when little things like that happen.

Now for the _**why**_ of all of this (I know you've all been waiting on the edge of your seat for this): It was a nice day, we had just gotten out for Thanksgiving Break last year (2011 for the people of the future that may be reading this a billion gazillion years from now) and it was the wednesday right before Turkey day. My mom just took me & my sis to go see the newest Twilight film, no one was even in the theater, surprisingly, so we half enjoyed it/half made fun of it. I got a brilliant idea for a totally unrelated fiction piece right after- for Percy Jackson, it involved a child of Hades sensing a death or something, but I later realized how ominous this should've been, the thought of death on my mind when i should've been fangirling it up. But back to my story... so I'm riding the bus to school that monday morning back from Break, listening to U2's 'Beautiful Day', totally pumped up & ready to tackle the monday head on. I walk into my usual morning hang out, & everyone I know is looking super down. I'm the semi-jokester/ hyperactive person of my group, so I quickly get to work trying to cheer everyone up. Then I hear the news... A kid in our grade, a kid who I went to elementary school with, had committed suicide over the break. While I was enjoying a movie with my family, this guy had just... And I didn't even know until THAT morning. I couldn't listen to U2 for that week, I couldn't stand 'Beautiful Day' for the next month. I listen to U2 still, I love that song, they're a good band, but I still think back to that kid I barely knew when I listen to them now. And why had he done the deed? Bullying. Some past girlfriend had been pissed off & got a bunch of people to torment him & call him gay & do stupid stuff like that. It's so asinine, but it happens so often & people don't do anything about it & now he's just another statistic to the rest of the world. But he meant something to my group of friends. He meant something to a lot of people. We live in a rapidly shrinking world, and we still treat each other like shit- pardon my french (or German according to my language-conscious Irish friend).

So this fic is for him. This is for every lost soul out there who just couldn't find another escape. This is for all the people they left behind, even that random, quiet, know-it-all girl who they knew went to school with them, but never really talked to. This is for those who didn't even know they could be affected by the death of a classmate that they hadn't known well enough to know that their circle of friends just so happened to mingle with each other.

I hope you pause a moment (or pray if you happen to be religious like that, I personally am not & I will not force my beliefs onto you) to remember someone you may have lost, someone you knew very very well or someone you just heard in the evening news that died randomly today. We barely know people in our own neighborhoods, sometimes, yet we all live within such close proximity of each other. Our worlds' population is only increasing, which means the death toll is only going to rise as well. Depressing, I know, but soon I'll be forgetting I even wrote this down & you'll be on your way to the next fanfic or sleeping or going about with the rest of your life. Hope you enjoyed this anyway, sorry for ruining your day.

Also in the spirit of Thanksgiving, tell me what you might be thankful for! Yes, I know you've already done this a million times in the past month & all today, but it'd be nice to hear all the same! What I'm thankful for: Teen Titans Go! in 2013. After all these years, we've almost got a season six! Sure, it's not gonna be like the show was before, but kudos to Sam Register & all the people working on it for getting the original voice cast back together! I miss Tara Strong's voice so much, I'm thankful that she'll be back doing Raven's voice, where she really belongs.

Leave me a review, what you liked/hated. Tell me to be more optimistic, tell me you relate to my spontaneous pessimism, whatever suits you. Tell me your own story if you've gone through something similar. Reviews make my day, even if they're bad, at least you took the time to tell me something, so thanks in advance.

See ya in the next fic, check out my other works, etc., also be appreciated if people checked out my forum (there's a link in my profile), it needs a little love. Hope you have a great turkey day despite this... Buh bye.. Alice, out...


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